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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tests identify father of Anna Nicole’s baby


DNA tests showed Larry Birkhead  is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's  daughter. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Jessica Robertson Associated Press

NASSAU, Bahamas – DNA tests prove it: Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s million-dollar baby.

“I told you so!” the late Playboy Playmate’s former boyfriend said Tuesday upon emerging from a closed court hearing. He added: “My baby’s going to be coming home pretty soon.”

Birkhead, a 34-year-old California photographer, then hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern, who has been caring for baby Dannielynn since Smith’s sudden death in February.

The hearing was a pivotal moment in the battle over who gets custody of the girl, who could inherit a fortune from the estate of Smith’s late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Although Birkhead is the father, Stern’s name is on the birth certificate. Another custody hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Stern, who was Smith’s lawyer and later became her companion, said he wouldn’t fight for custody, but a lawyer for Smith’s mother, Virgie Arthur, indicated she might. The judge scheduled another hearing for Friday in the pink colonial courthouse to discuss who will raise the girl, who could inherit hundreds of millions of dollars.

Stern said he loved the baby despite the DNA results and would support Birkhead.

“I’m obviously very disappointed, but my feelings for Dannielynn have not changed,” he said, adding of Birkhead: “I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure he gets sole custody.”

Birkhead had been fighting for custody of Dannielynn even before Smith’s death.

“Nothing’s been determined except parentage and I’m the father,” Birkhead said. “It’s been a long road and I’m just happy to have this behind me.”

A crowd of about 250 people, many of them tourists, cheered from behind police barricades when Birkhead, clutching a piece of paper, announced the DNA test results. The court’s DNA expert, Dr. Michael Baird, confirmed it.

“Essentially, he’s the biological father,” Baird said.

The baby, whose full name is Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, could inherit millions from Marshall’s estate. Smith, a former model, had been fighting the Texas oil tycoon’s family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995. The question of who inherits Smith’s estate remains unresolved.